(Washington, D.C. — April 22, 2009) This week, the U.S. and Mexico are holding their first Border States Climate Change Workshop in Monterrey, Mexico to continue collaborative efforts to address climate change. The workshop brings together representatives from the EPA and its Mexican counterpart, Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (SEMARNAT), along with its science arm Instituto Nacional de Ecologia (INE), and stakeholders from 10 states on both sides of the border to discuss ongoing national and state level efforts to address climate change and to explore future initiatives.

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The workshop, being held April 22-23, will focus on a variety of ongoing and future efforts including greenhouse gas inventories and emissions forecasts, reporting systems, action plans, and energy efficiency projects and financing opportunities.

The workshop is sponsored by the Border 2012 Program Air Policy Forum and the Border Environment Cooperation Commission. The U.S.-Mexico Border 2012 Program is a collaboration between the United States and Mexico to improve the environment and protect the health of nearly 12 million people living along the border. The Border Environment Cooperation Commission strengthens cross-border cooperation and supports sustainable projects.

The Border 2012 Air Policy Forum is helping to achieve significant environmental benefits through projects in the U.S. and Mexico. Completed and ongoing projects include coordination on airshed management, improvements to ambient air monitoring networks, retrofits to diesel trucks and buses, feasibility studies of anti-idling measures for border crossings, reductions of brick kiln emissions, and reductions of greenhouse gas emissions through landfill gas capture projects.